Мой первый журнал SUNRISE November № 1 2018 | Page 28

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
Navigating America:
A French`s Perspective on American Сulture
Anna-Maria Skop
Pennsylvania (USA)
27
I never had a particular desire to learn
English. I honestly wasn't even really good at
speaking it during my college years. The United
States attracted me even less, and I thought that
their culture and French culture were pretty similar
and that traveling there wouldn't be that exciting.
When any travel opportunity presented
itself at my university, I ran the opposite direction:
Russia, China, Indonesia… To me, those countries
were worth visiting; countries with a unique culture,
language and traditions that weren't based on the
western world. I wasn't interested in Mc Donalds, big
movie productions, pancakes, and the “How-are-
you?- I'm-fine-thank-you” stereotype of the
“American Dream.”
Despite telling you all of these negative
forethoughts, I married an American and I have
already been living in the States for about 4 years.
What`s more, I started my own business here, and if
you ask me whether I would like to live in France
again, I would tell you… ABSOLUTELY NOT !
I am 'Merica all the way! Fate must have
planned this. I met my American husband in Bali,
Indonesia, and 4 years later I married and followed
him to a small countryside town named Mount
Pleasant in the State of Pennsylvania.
Yes, the United States of America is not as
different as China or Indonesia, but it nonetheless
surprised me on numerous occasions.
My most pleasant surprise was how warm
and welcoming Americans are. If you are not a fan of
small talk and chitchat, then you will probably hate
it, but I love to talk! The French have a reputation of
being curt and rude, the Americans are the
complete opposite. I was shocked when shopping
for groceries and I was asked by the cashier, “How
are you, honey ? Do you have any plans for the
weekend?” I couldn't believe it because in France,
you barely say “Hello” or even make eye contact, but
here she was calling me honey and asking about my
weekend plans! I felt so special until I realized that
cashiers, waiters, and basically anyone will call me
“sweetheart,” “honey,” or “babe,” as a warm term of
endearment (and here I thought that the waiter had
a crush on me).
Everybody talks to one another: in the
parking lot, standing in a line, at the coffee shop,
and even in doctors' offices. Strangers make small
talk about the weather, news, or just share
complaints and personal problems.
The culture of consuming food is also very
different from France. Restaurants here are
cheaper, and it is a cultural norm to go out even a
couple times a week and not only for big occasions.
The most surprising concept to me was to go out on
Sunday morning for breakfast which was usually
pancakes and sausages or fried bacon (Yuck!).
I'm pretty sure that the portions are twice
as big as French ones as well. If you order something
you will get a lot of it! But, every restaurant offers
containers for your leftovers and it is expected that
you will take it home to not be wasteful. The food is
also sweeter and greasier. You can get almost
everything fried; my biggest surprise was fried Oreo
cookies and fried pickles!
My favorite appetizers so far turned out to
be cheese sticks. They are fried mozzarella cheese
and very delicious! Burgers are always a must-have
when trying a new restaurant as well. Also, when you
ask for a water, it will ALWAYS, summer or winter,
come with ice cubes in it! Servers are surprised when
you ask for water without ice.
SUNRISE
November 2018 №1